Fresh off one of the best seasons on the defensive side of the ball, the Ole Miss Rebels look to repeat history with an entirely different group, with just two returning starters from last season. Defensive Coordinator Pete Golding had turned the Ole Miss defensive units into one of the most feared in college football. Last season, the Rebels led the nation in sacks per game and tackles for loss while leading the SEC by allowing only 14.4 points per game on average.

However, this is a new year, and the Rebels have an entirely new unit except for Suntarine Perkins and TJ Dottery at linebacker. These two bring back a lot of experience, including All-SEC accolades for Perkins, who led the SEC in sacks with 10.5, and TJ Dottery, who finished second on the team in total tackles with 76 solo tackles last season. Rounding out the linebacker group for the Rebels, you have Andrew Jones, Tyler Banks, Tahj Chambers, and Jaden Yates. Ole Miss fans are likely familiar with Tyler Banks, who has earned his time in the spotlight after spending the last three seasons as a reserve.

On the defensive line, Princewill Umanmielen, Kam Franklin, Da’Shawn Womack, and DeeJay Holmes round out the defensive end position. Da’Shawn Womack came to Ole Miss via LSU, where he had 2.5 sacks in his two seasons in Baton Rouge. Elsewhere around the defensive line, you have Jamarious Brown, Will Echoles, Jeffery Rush, and Zxavian Harris. Harris comes to Ole Miss from Georgia State, where in his two seasons, he had 65 tackles, including ten for a loss.

In the secondary, Ole Miss tackled the transfer portal pretty hard, adding Jaylon Braxton from Arkansas, who was an all-SEC freshman pick in 2023, Sage Ryan from LSU, who brings experience to the roster with 21 starts at LSU, Kaplan Gushiken who comes to Oxford via the portal from Washington State where he had three intercepations in his two seasons with the Cougars. All three guys combine with Chris Graves, who returns to Ole Miss after spending his first two seasons as a pivotal reserve with 28 tackles. You have TJ Banks, Cedrick Beavers, Nick Cull, and Andy Jaffe, who are all expected to play pivotal reserve roles this season in the talent-rich Ole Miss secondary.

Overall, the talent is there for Ole Miss to return to the top half of the Southeastern Conference in total defense, but it comes down to how the new guys from the portal and underclassmen adjust to a new system and ways of doing things. If they come in and adapt to the ways of Pete Golding, then we could see another breakout year for the Ole Miss defense.

Photo Credits- Ole Miss Football on X